Oh, baby, what a shower gift! Honest books for expectant mothers

Crib sheets. Burp cloths. Receiving blankets. Diapers. These are useful items, for sure, but not exactly inspiring on the subject of motherhood. If you’re shopping for a baby shower, consider giving a gift that will provide the expectant mother a bit of comfort and insight as she approaches this major life change: a book. The recommendations we’ve included below are perfect for any mother looking for some helpful perspective on her little bundle of joy.

Novelist and memoirist Anne Lamott captures her experiences as a single mother and recovering alcoholic during her son’s first year of life in a memoir that is both poignant and hilarious. Not quite 20 years later, Lamott published Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son (Riverhead, 2012), which she wrote along with her son, Sam. The book details Lamott’s hilarious views on being a grandparent and her attempts to fix her son’s rocky relationship.

This book is perfect for expectant mothers interested in what the guide books don’t tell you, or new mothers hoping for a book that reflects their feelings of confusion and inadequacy. Cusk, a British novelist, began writing the book when her daughter was 6 months old, eager to capture the experiences of this unique time in life before they were lost to her. Cusk offers some brutal honesty in her take on motherhood and while this might not be the most cheerful of motherhood books, it will appeal to a wide variety of mothers of young children.

This book is a collection of letters written by Fennelly—a poet—to a pregnant friend. The book is a compilation of reflections on a wide range of topics, from pregnancy cravings to potty training to “the erotics of motherhood” that captures the frustrations, joys, and doubts of being a mother. The short letters make the format perfect for mothers who are sleep-deprived or short on quiet time and who are looking for just a bit of inspiration to carry them through the day.

Dedicated readers of BookTrib will recognize this recommendation from an article I wrote back in March highlighting Waldman among a handful of other writers. Modern mothers are consistently anxious about being labeled a “bad mother,” and at the same time are quick to utter the pronouncement—about themselves and other mothers. This book, then, is for any mother who has ever felt harassed by the “Bad Mother Police,” whether at the playground or within her own mind.

received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, and now works as a freelance writer and editor. Her clients include many first time authors, and she delights in helping them give voice to their stories. She has recently completed work on her own first novel, Besotted, literary fiction set in Shanghai, for which she is currently seeking representation. She lives in Portland, OR, with her husband, two children, and Yorkshire Terrier, Saunders.